Saturday, December 24, 2011

White Pond

It's a white Christmas Eve for us. Here's a quick look down the road at the pond and what this evening's looking like. Growing up in the 1950's in Portland, High Street was a favorite place to visit leading up to Christmas. I actually do remember the time Dad first showed me the window in Starrett's Store on a shopping trip to find a special gift for Mom. Long before there were malls sprinkled all over, if you were shopping for Christmas, you went downtown. Petula Clark was right; it was all about Downtown. The large window was on the ground floor of the Eastland Hotel. The window was filled with train tracks, tiny snow-covered villages and four or more LionelTrains running throughout the various village scenes. What really made this window enchanting and jaw dropping was the metal plate on the window that when you placed your small hand on it made the trains move and the window come alive. A visit here was a ritual of pre-Christmas for my brother, sisters and me. I could have stayed there for hours, even in the cold of the season. Got a favorite Holiday Memory? HoHoHo!

21 comments:

  1. Picture perfect. Merry Christmas, Birdman.

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  2. superbe paysage d'hiver,ici pas de noel blanc.
    JOYEUX NOEL

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  3. My favorite holiday memory is having my aunts, uncles, and cousins over on Christmas Eve. We'd spend the night together (even skating on the backyard rink that my dad always made), and then walk down to church for Midnight Mass, all together. After the service, we'd come back and enjoy a great buffet spread . . . good times!

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  4. that sounds so cool. no great nostalgic memory from me.

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  5. So that's where the snow is. The tiny layer at my place is long gone.

    God Jul!

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  6. Speaking of downtown, I have very fond memories of Christmas shopping with my mother in downtown Quincy. Just like you said, all the action was downtown, no malls in site. When I was older, I remember doing some Christmas shopping in downtown St. Louis and I loved the big city feel. Imagine my dismay when years later I was sent there for work and downtown was no longer a pleasant place to shop.
    Great snow photo today! Enjoy your day!

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  7. Stunning white...Merry Christmas!

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  8. Now that is a perfect shot for a Christmas card!
    Merry Christmas Eve to you too Birdman!

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  9. Lovely shot! Merry Christmas Birdman!

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  10. I am sure I had great Christmas memories back when I had a memory.

    Merry Christmas, Birdman.

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  11. White... everything! :-) Happy Christmas, Birdman!

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  12. I too remember going downtown to see the animated windows and then to see Santa himself. Those same windows are still animated every year and I still try to go down!

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  13. Merry Christmas to YOU and YOURS. I am jealous that you all are getting snow... No snow here this year. Dang.

    Hugs to you and your Sweetie.
    Betsy

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  14. What a gorgeous scene! I'm glad that you're having a white Christmas and I'm glad that we're not. But whatever, its color, have a very merry one!

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  15. Fantastic winter scene. And, we remember those trips (as well as the song) downtown. The snow is perfect for Christmas. It's about 60 here.

    Merry Christmas.

    Darryl and Ruth :)

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  16. Downtown where all the lights are bright.
    Merry Christmas Birdman!

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  17. Snow at last! Thanks, that's a lovely Christmas present! :-) Joyeux Noël !

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  18. Merry Christmas! I have enjoyed visiting you and your blog this past year…

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  19. Merry Christmas. Perfect picture. Your card for next year.

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  20. It's a lovely winter scene...and a WHITE Christmas. This is our first brown holiday in years. Last year we had 19 inches on the ground!!

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  21. Such a beautiful Christmas scene. Happy holidays!

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